When looking at regions where residents are most overweight, the results are an eye opener. Two British national surveys clearly show that the poorer former industrial towns in the North of England are among the fattest areas.
In the US, we can see some similar results. The 2005 consensus illustrates that the Southern states had the highest level of poverty and obesity of all US regions.
Does this suggest that poverty is better at predicting obesity than race or education? Certainly looks that way.
Unfortunately, poorer families have less money to spend and fast food outlets seem to be their primary sources since its cheap and fast. Then looking at how many fast food places there are in a community might indicate where the poorest families reside.
Then it all boils down to the fact that the less money you have, the more likely you will end up obese. One very good reason for this other than the food being cheaper at fast food outlets, is that these foods are also high in calories and low in nutrients.
Sadly, the government subsidizes the food processing industry which makes the food cheaper for the fast food outlets to buy which in turn makes it cheaper for us to buy.
It’s too bad that the real wholesome, low-calorie produce being grown by conscientious farmers costs more to grow and therefore more for us to buy.
Hopefully we will begin to question the subsidizing of high-fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated oils and move toward natural flavors of wholesome, fresh food where quality and not quantity is of importance.
Very interesting article.